Qualifying Results For The 2010 Monaco Grand Prix

Mark Webber took pole in the qualifying for the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix today. The results were influenced by events involving two drivers – Fernando Alonso and Robert Kubica.
 
Monaco is considered the glamour grand prix of the Formula 1 season. I have to admit that I’ve never really understood why. The track is so antiquated that there is almost nowhere to pass and the results almost solely seem to be dependent on qualifying. Frankly, it is a boring race, but qualifying is certainly very exciting.


Qualifying for Monaco was almost over before it started. Why? The mercurial Fernando Alonso had dominated the weekend. The aerodynamic advantage of Red Bull was negated enough that the skills of Fernando the Great became apparent. Well, until the third qualifying session when he became Fernando the Impatient and pushed his car to hard. Bam into the barriers he went. The damage was such that he did not participate in qualifying and now will struggle to get up in the point. On a weekend when he should have taken the win and the lead in the drivers’ championship, he will instead try to minimize the damage. Poorly done Fernando.
 
Qualifying looked like it would be the usual droll Red Bull one-two. Au Contraire! The surprise of the season, Robert Kubica, was simply flying in his underpowered, butt-ugly Renault. He put down fast lap after fast lap and it looked as though pole would be his. It took Mark Webber in a vastly superior car to nip him in the end, but Kubica should be applauded for his massive effort and fate should reward him with a positive result tomorrow.
 
Disappointing Drivers
 
Felipe Massa must really be feeling the pressure. Fernando is just crushing him on the track. Despite clearly having a car that should have taken pole, Massa could only take a lackluster fourth position. The fact Ferrari is rumored to be looking to Kubica in 2011 seems a smart move. Felipe is a solid driver, but clearly does not have the ability to take it to the next level as seen with a Hamilton, Alonso, and Vettel.
 
Speaking of Vettel, his qualifying was a tad disappointing as well. He blamed it on traffic, but it is hard to ignore the fact Webber has clearly outpaced him in Spain and now here in Monaco. Seb needs to pick up his game. Red Bull has failed him on reliability, but he can’t use that as an excuse. If you are the number one driver, you must be consistent.



Disappointing Team
 
McLaren seems to have switched one problem for another. They have been slow on fast tracks the last few years because of a poor aero package. They have clearly fixed it this year as shown in Spain, but now are poor on a high down force track like Monaco. Hamilton was pushing like a maniac, but the car just didn’t have the needed speed. He must have been frustrated when asking for the sector he was slow in only to hear back that he was slower than the leader in every sector. McLaren should be better. The drivers are not the question. The design last year and this year is.
 
The Race Prediction
 
I would love to see Kubica take the race, but Webber seems the logical choice. The rest of the field should be processional, unfortunately. There just isn’t much room to pass. Look for Hamilton to push forward and for Alonso to shoot up through the back markers in an effort to find some points. Other than that, it should be a fairly low key affair.
 
Maybe we’ll get lucky and it will rain!

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